May 04, 2006

Manga Zoomlines for Illustrator

Plug-in maker GraphicXtras has released Zoomlines, an Illustrator utility for making the focus/zoom lines often seen in manga and other comics. The interface is a bit inscrutable, but for $12 a lot can be forgiven. Just don’t stare too long a the vibrating centers of your creations, lest they induce a seizure. [Via]
I dig this kind of little single-purpose tool: quick, affordable, and built to solve a particular problem. We do need to make it easier to modify Adobe authoring tools to encourage this kind of development, and we’re working on that.
The images created by Zoomlines reminds me of some fun I’ve been having in Illustrator lately, trying out ideas for this blog. I was kind of taken with the album art for Volante, so I experimented with techniques to make something similar. In case it’s useful, I’ve illustrated the steps taken to create the basic artwork that became the background for this page. I think it’s got kind of a Soundgarden/Rollins Band thing going on.